Lecture: Blood, Water, and Hope: Menstruation and the Climate Crisis among Maasai Pastoralists of Tanzania

Who are the Maasai of northern Tanzania and how have their ways of being and knowing changed in recent decades? What factors have catalyzed these changes and how have the Maasai responded? This presentation by Musa Kamaika (Maasai) and Rachel Hodapp (‘13), from the University of Wisconsin-Madison will provide key context on northern Tanzania, the Maasai people, and the challenges they face including the climate crisis, land grabs, and women’s reproductive health.

The presenters will share preliminary findings from their 2022-23 medical anthropology fieldwork investigating how Maasai conceptualize, embody, and care for their menstruation in the context of devastating effects of climate change. This presentation will shed light on one group in east Africa but also has far-reaching implications for international development stakeholders and all who care about women’s health and the environment.